Seaside Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

key,” she finally said. She didn't want to continue to question Jason's behavior. He had just lost his father after all, and had no mother to turn to either. In fact, in Suzie's estimation, she was probably Jason's closest living relative. She didn't want to alienate him just because he wasn't grieving the way she expected him to. “Go on out,” Suzie encouraged Mary. “I'll meet you out there.”
    When Suzie stepped out on to the porch with a glass of tea in each hand, she found Mary gazing with a dreamy smile on her lips at the ocean stretched out before her.
    “ How could anyone give this up?” she asked quietly as she accepted the glass of tea from Suzie. “I think I could stare at the ocean forever.”
    Suzie rubbed her friend's back lightly and smiled sympathetically at her. “I know this is still hard for you, Mary,” she said gingerly. “I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help.”
    “ I can't tell you how much I appreciate being here,” Mary replied as she took a sip of her tea. “You always seem to know exactly what to do.”
    “ Ha,” Suzie rolled her eyes at that and leaned against the railing of the porch, with her back to the ocean. “If only that was the case,” she smiled as nostalgia flooded her. There were a lot of turns in the road of her life that she would have preferred to have led down different paths. But as she glanced over her shoulder at the rolling waves and the slowly setting sun, she was certain that despite the missteps, she had landed exactly where she was meant to.
    “ Hello?” Jason's strong voice called from around the corner of the house. Suzie straightened up and set her glass of tea down on the flat surface of the wide railing. She walked towards the sound of Jason's voice.
    “ We're back here,” she called out as she walked around the corner of the house to meet him. Jason stood tentatively at the edge of the porch as if he expected the wooden boards to collapse beneath him. “I thought you were going to text me?” Suzie reminded him.
    “ I did,” he replied with a gruff edge to his voice. Suzie slid her hand into her pocket to check her phone. When she found it empty she realized that she must have left it on the kitchen counter while she was fixing the iced tea.
    “ Sorry, Jason,” she frowned as she met his stolid blue eyes. He only looked back at her expectantly. She gritted her teeth as she realized getting the slightest hint of emotion out of him was going to be like pulling teeth. “Here,” she handed him the key that she had stowed in her other pocket. “I'd be happy to give you the other paperwork that was in the safe.”
    Jason stared nervously at the key he was holding between his thumb and first finger. “Honestly, I don't even want this,” he shrugged and started to turn away. “I'll probably just tell the bank to donate whatever is inside.”
    “ Jason, wait,” Suzie reached out and grabbed his forearm gently. He seemed a little startled by her touch, and she was just as surprised by it. Despite Jason being about the age that her own child might be if she had one, she had never felt a maternal pull before. Something about Jason made her want to understand him, and even help him if she could. Perhaps it was because they were family, or maybe it was some irrational need that she hadn't put a finger on yet.
    “I just want you to know that if you need to talk,” she smiled awkwardly, “I'm here. I mean, there may be some things you want out of the house. Things that belonged to your father, or to your mother,” she suggested. She caught sight of a flicker of emotion cross his face when she mentioned his mother.
    “ There's not,” he said sternly and drew his arm from her grasp. “Listen, I appreciate the gesture,” he said calmly as he met her eyes. “But I have people I can talk to. Really the best thing for me would be to have all of this off my back. Okay?” he narrowed his eyes slightly as if he was willing to speak in a